cadet blogs

There isn’t much that I have to say about this last month of my first semester as a 3/c cadet. All I know is that it feels as if there is way too much work to accomplish, but no time to do it. Looking up at my bookshelf, I now notice that it is lined with more books than ever, ranging from mechanical engineering textbooks, to applied naval architecture books, to books on the fundamentals of multivariable calculus, to Dutton’s infamous novel on nautical navigation. And I must admit, squeezed in between these dense publications is a Calculus for Dummies manual that I refer to from time to time. At the end of the line is a smaller text, a book of snarky and inspirational quotes, titled Keep Calm and Carry On.

Reading the title reminds me of two things: hipsters (of course) and an important life lesson. No matter what you get yourself into, no matter the goals that you have yet to achieve, no matter the never-ending list of things to do, just step back, take a breath and relax. Looking at the bigger picture here, I have a lot to be thankful for, so there is no reason to over-stress about my workload and upcoming final exams. If I’ve made it this far, then there is no reason I can’t make it through these last few weeks.